Rumbles of a Lonely Mammoth

In 2012, I had written out a wish list for BJP India, asking them amongst other things, to focus on development and deciding on a PM candidate [full blog reproduced here ]. The most striking thing about the wish list was that, much of it actually found its way into BJPs 2014 electoral strategy. Don't misunderstand me - am not saying I am all that important. Merely that my thoughts must have found strong resonance across a wider electorate - and BJP had listened to voices on the ground. Listening to voices on the ground and social media (SM) had paid off handsomely for BJP in 2014. So, here is the unsolicited wish list for BJP's 2019 manifesto. Hopefully, some of it would resonate with the larger population. 1. Talk about and act on #Core issues. If nothing else, talk about legal discrimination in education sector and in religious matters [Art 25 - 30, and Amendment 93]. I don't want to elaborate on these issues - since none other than the MoS HRD, Dr. Satyapal Singh

This was a post I wrote, way back in 2012. A particularly nasty comment to BJP IT cell on Twitter, led to them asking what I think should be done - and I thought I will become part of something constructive. Hence, in all my starry eyed liberalism, I wrote this post in 2012. It is interesting to see how far I have moved in 6 years hence. 1. Define your core competency: Sorry guys, Hindutva as a core competency has lost its vote gathering value. I still remember when BJP attempted the rath yatra a few years ago (not the 1990's one) - and how it flopped. How I wished I could just bury my head in the sand and just forget your existence. Please, pretty please, don't repeat something like that. A Ram mandir at Ayodhya might matter to probably a few million people. But that would barely make up 1% of the population. Today, a good four lane road leading to a mandir / masjid / market is more appealing to an average Indian than the destination itself. Be the facilitator, but don't

This week witnessed the arrogance and fall of a missionary who wanted to introduce "Jesus" and "Gospel", in the face of an isolated and legally protected tribe. Chau, an American missionary [or should I say, zealot], tried to take the gospel to a group of highly secluded and protected tribals in Andaman Nicobar islands. The tribe, Sentinalese, are known to be one of the oldest surviving isolated tribed outside Africa. They are thought to have settled in A/N Islands, about 60,000 years ago. They are protected tribe, and the competent authorities consider them at a risk of extinction. They are likely to be highly vulnerable to normal pathogens that today's modern humans carry on their person. This zealot, Chau, bribed his way into the island, breaking several rules and laws along the way, and died at the hands of the tribe - after refusing to heed repeated warnings. The reaction of most civilized people is one of utter horror and disbelief. Words such as &quo

When was the last time you enjoyed a dance without adding a political connotation to it? When was the last time you listened to a song without commenting on its language? When was the last time you went to a movie without checking the political leanings of the actor, the director, the producer or even that of the movie theatre owner? When was the last time you saw a Disney movie, and didn’t comment “subliminal liberal messaging”? When was the last time anything in life, existed without an underlying message or meaning? There was such a time, you know!! Question is, do you remember it? For men and women alike, do you remember a time when you looked and admired a person of the opposite sex, without wondering about their political / social leanings? Ever remember a time when you didn’t say “oh! she / he is beautiful / handsome, but … “?   We are quick to blame the left for hating. And it is legitimate. But, the question remains - are we becoming quicker? In our pursuit for our polit

It is that time of the year when all Hindus are shamed for celebrating one of their most important festivals - Diwali. Apart from lights, the festival is celebrated with fireworks and crackers. The common refrain is that the festival causes pollution, and serious harm to health of kids and adults alike. Besides which, we are also reminded of animals not liking loud noises, and the pollution killing off birds - all for one day.  While smoke is an issue on Diwali day, we will take stock of the facts about pollution - and Diwali's contribution to it. There are few threads in this problem: a) the overall pollution levels and the source thereof, b) the persistence of firecracker / Diwali pollution, and c) the economics of firework / crackers in the recent years. A Greenpeace report [ here ] reports that all around the year, Indian metropolii are uninhabitable with respect to air quality. Particularly, Delhi has the distinction of being the most polluted city in the world. Aver

Finally, the ills of Right to Education Act (#RTE) are coming out to light. Apart from the outcome based failures that have been discussed threadbare by even the Govt of India, the sectarian nature of #RTE (it applies only to Hindu run schools) is finally trickling down into public domain. The efforts of one anonymous twitter handle in this respect must be acknowledged: @realitycheckind (RCI). In a literal David vs Goliath, RCI has fought a long, and often lonely, battle to bring the ills of #RTE to public attention. Yours truly got educated from his tweets on this topic since 2012. In a recent article, Education policy maker Meeta Sengupta (@meetasengupta on Twitter) wrote an article in LiveMint , where she discusses three major problems with #RTE factually. I say factually because the article doesn't bring out the whole truth in that issue - and in that sense, the article hides some and reveals some. I am also at odds with the overall direction of solutions that Ms. Sengupta a